Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, or at least being in the situation of wanting to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, is a widespread problem in modern society. While some individual users are not generally concerned about operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, others are genuinely concerned about doing so because of the potential adverse consequences. It is sometimes difficult for an individual user to be able to objectively judge whether they have exceeded the threshold for o being able to legally operate a motor vehicle, particularly as objective judgment is impaired as alcohol is consumed. A very common threshold value of blood alcohol content level for determining whether an individual user is able to legally operate a motor vehicle is 80 milligrams of alcohol per liter of blood, or otherwise expressed, 0.08% blood alcohol content.
In order to make it possible for an individual user who has been consuming alcohol to make a proper and objective judgment as to whether he might be in a condition to legally operate a motor vehicle, it is necessary to test for that individual user's blood alcohol content in some manner. While it is possible to directly test an individual user's blood alcohol content level by way of taking a blood sample and analyzing that sample, this method is generally unsatisfactory for self-administration and may raise legal issues when administered by others since it involves the invasion of an individual user's body by a needle. It is also possible to relatively accurately discern an individual user's blood alcohol content level in an indirect manner, by analyzing a sample of an individual user's breath that has been obtained from the bottom portion of the individual user's lungs, which sample is hereinafter referred to as a testing sample. Many establishments that serve alcohol have testing devices located within their premises that allow an individual user to attempt to discern his or her blood alcohol content level in this manner.
Various types of such testing devices utilizing different operating mechanisms are known. Each type, however, receives an individual user's breath sample and ultimately produces by way of an electrochemical reaction, an electrical output signal that is representative of the blood alcohol content level of the individual user. Various means are then used in the testing devices to convert the electrical output signal from the electrochemical operating mechanisms to an output that is properly representative of the blood alcohol content level of the individual user being tested. This output might be the actual numeric value of the individual user's blood alcohol content level or might be, for example, a categorization of that level, as either "pass", "warn", or "fail".
As mentioned previously, in order to receive a reliable representative testing sample from an individual user's breath sample, it is necessary to obtain the testing sample from the air at the bottom of the individual user's lungs. Accordingly, in order to provide such a testing sample, the individual user must (1) wait until the testing device is ready, (2) take a deep breath, (3) blow (exhale) at a certain threshold rate, which can be measured as a gas pressure, and (4) maintain at least this threshold gas pressure for a predetermined length of time (generally considered to be at least three seconds). The testing sample should not be taken until after this predetermined length of time has expired, but does not need to last for more than about one half second thereafter. Presently available self-administered breath testing devices do not make provision for informing an individual user of the proper procedure for providing a testing sample. It has been found that presently available self-administered breath testing devices generally lack a sufficient and proper operating methodology necessary for permitting the easy and proper use by an untrained individual user in an unsupervised setting.
Further, an individual user must know how to correctly interpret the results that are displayed, and also how to use these results in a safe and appropriate manner. An individual user should know what the legal limit of alcohol is, must be informed of whether he or she is over this legal limit, should be informed if he or she is only slightly below the legal limit, and should be advised to perform a retest in certain situations, such as when he or she is only slightly below the legal limit, as it is extremely important in this situation to determine whether an individual user's blood alcohol content is rising or falling. The individual user should also be advised if the measured alcohol content is extremely high, and that such a high reading might also indicate that the test has not been performed properly.
It has been found that presently available prior art self-administrable breath testing devices generally lack a sufficient and proper operating methodology necessary to provide such information in its entirety, in a sufficiently useful manner.
One example of a prior art device can be found in Canadian Patent No. 997,585 to Hoppesch et al., which patent discloses a breath tester for supervised use. The breath tester disclosed therein has an analog meter that indicates the alcohol level from an individual user's breath, and also has three light emitting diodes that signal "pass", "warn", or "fail". In order to use this device, it is necessary to know that the analog meter must be in a near 0 condition at the start of the test, which indicates that the detector unit has been sufficiently purged of alcohol and is providing a null electrical output. Further, this device does not indicate when to blow, how long to blow, nor does it test for how hard the individual user is blowing, nor does it inform the individual user if he or she is not blowing hard enough. Further, no instructions as to retesting are provided, in the event that the individual user's blood alcohol content level is near the legal threshold, in order to help the individual user determine whether his or her blood alcohol content level is rising or falling. The unit does, however, indicate when an individual user must wait to use it and when it is ready to be used, and also when it is in its testing mode. It is not possible to properly use this device without specific knowledge of how to use the device, which would be gained by either previous experience or specific instruction. Accordingly, it is not suitable for unsupervised use by an untrained individual user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,945 to Collier et al. discloses a breath testing system suitable for direct installation in an automobile. This system indicates when it is ready to be used, when it is actually testing, and whether the results of the test are pass or fail. These indications are all presented by way of small lights or light emitting diodes. This system has all of the shortcomings of the prior art device described above, except that it can be used in an unsupervised manner. This is because an individual user would need to instruct himself in the proper operation of this device if it was installed in an individual user's car, failing which the car would be rendered inoperable. Such would not be the case with a device installed in a licensed drinking establishment.
One desirable aspect of testing for an individual user's blood alcohol content level is to re-test an individual user whose first test indicates that he/she is near the maximum legal blood alcohol content level, but not over it. If only one test is performed, it is not known whether that individual user's blood alcohol content level is rising or falling. The desirability of this feature is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,164 to Porter et al., wherein a vehicle breath monitoring device is adapted to require a retest after 8 minutes if a blood alcohol content level slightly below the legal limit is realized upon a first test. The device only beeps after the 8 minute period in order to indicate that a retest should be done. Again, specific knowledge of the operation of the device must be had by an individual user using the device in order to use it properly.
It is also known to provide an electronic digital display of the blood alcohol level, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,553 to Lopez et al. This patent also teaches the use of digital electronics to perform the testing operation and also to store the results of the test in random access computer memory for later use. It does not however, provide adequate instructions for the proper operation of the device.
Another important aspect of properly and accurately testing for blood alcohol content level by way of capturing and analyzing an individual user's breath sample, is informing that individual user that the test results might be inaccurate if the test results are very high, which high test results may be caused by the presents of alcohol in the individual user's mouth. It is necessary to inform the individual user that the test should be performed again after the individual user's mouth has been rinsed. Such instructions are not provided by the various devices disclosed in the prior art.
It has been found that it is common for individual users to not test for their blood alcohol content level upon leaving a licensed drinking establishment, even though the individual users might be unsure of whether their blood alcohol content level is within a threshold range for legally operating a motor vehicle. In many cases, the deficiencies of prior art blood alcohol content level testing devices installed in these drinking establishments do not provide adequate enough information on the use of the device, nor do they provide full and complete information about the test results, assistance on how to correctly interpret the test results and how to use the test results in a safe and appropriate manner.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which apparatus allows that individual user to accurately and objectively determine his/her blood alcohol content level.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which apparatus makes provisions for informing that individual user on an interactive basis about the proper procedures for providing a testing sample.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which apparatus provides instructions to permit the easy and proper use thereof by an untrained individual user in an unsupervised setting.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which apparatus informs the individual user how to correctly interpret the test results.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which apparatus informs the individual user in the event that the test has not been performed properly.
It another object of the present invention to provide an automated method for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which method allows that individual user to accurately and objectively determine his/her blood alcohol content level.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated method for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which method makes provisions for informing that individual user on an interactive basis about the proper procedures for providing a testing sample.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an automated method for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which method provides instructions to permit the easy and proper use thereof by an untrained individual user in an unsupervised setting.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an automated method for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which method informs the individual user how to correctly interpret the test results.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an automated method for conducting an unsupervised test of the level of blood alcohol content of an individual user, which method informs the individual user in the event that the test has not been performed properly.